Barbara Bradley Hagerty Barbara Bradley Hagerty

Interview on Amanpour | CNN/PBS

This innocent man spent over three decades behind bars. Now, he's free.

Bianna Golodryga speaks with Ben Spencer, who was wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit, spending more than 30 years behind bars, and Barbara Bradley Hagerty who helped free Ben, as she details in her new book, "Bringing Ben Home".

September 4, 2024 | CNN/PBS
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Barbara Bradley Hagerty Barbara Bradley Hagerty

The Luckiest of the Unlucky

In part two of our story about Ben Spencer, a man sentenced to life in prison for a crime he said he didn't commit, former NPR correspondent Barbara Bradley Hagerty begins her own investigation.

In this episode of The Sunday Story from Up First, a look at what finally happens to a man who pinned his hopes on the idea that the truth would eventually set him free.

December 22, 2024 | Up First from NPR

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Maggie Freleng with Ben Spencer | Wrongful Conviction Podcast

On the evening of March 22, 1987 a businessman and father were robbed and killed in Dallas, TX. Just a few days later, 22-year-old Benjamine Spencer, a newlywed with a child on the way, was arrested for the crime. A reward for any information on the killing would lead several eyewitnesses to fabricate a story implicating Ben. Despite the fact that he had an alibi and there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime, Ben was sentenced to life in prison. He fought for the next 37 years to finally be declared an innocent man.

October 14, 2024 | Wrongful Conviction Podcast

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Barbara Bradley Hagerty Barbara Bradley Hagerty

Interview with Meghna Chakrabarti | WBUR On Point

Today, On Point: Inside the wrongful conviction of Ben Spencer. No witnesses. No physical evidence. An ironclad alibi. Nevertheless, a Texas jury sentenced Ben Spencer to life in prison for a murder he didn't commit. Journalist and author Barbara Bradley Hagerty shares what it took to set Spencer free.

August 08, 2024 | WBUR On Point
Photo: David Goldman/AP File Photo.
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Barbara Bradley Hagerty Barbara Bradley Hagerty

The possibilities and pleasures of middle age

In America, the word “midlife” is so often followed by the word “crisis” that we’re likely more inclined to dread entering this phase of life, rather than relish it.  In the book "Life Reimagined: The Science, Art, and Opportunity of Midlife, Barbara Bradley Hagerty uses emerging information from neurology, genetics, sociology—as well as her own story—to reimagine the possibilities, purposes, and pleasures of middle age.
March 2016 | WHYY'S Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane
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The Art and Opportunity of Midlife

When Barbara Bradley Hagerty hit her 50s, she braced herself for a midlife crisis. Exhausted by her career as an NPR correspondent and scrambling to pay off a mortgage, Hagerty reached the final straw when her father died and her mother suffered a stroke. Instead of collapsing, Hagerty embarked on a quest to grow and thrive in the second half of her life.
March 2016 | KQED's Forum
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Barb’s Interview with Alisa Chang | NPR

In 'Bringing Ben Home,' Barbara Bradley Hagerty examines a wrongful conviction.

In today's episode, Bradley Hagerty speaks with NPR's Ailsa Chang about her own investigation into the case and the kind of criminal justice reform she says is necessary to prevent this from happening again.
August 2024 | National Public Radio Series, "NPR's Book of the Day"
Photo: NPR
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